St. Andrew's Dental Centre

I feel like there's some criteria when one becomes a dentist that they have to inflict fear and anxiety - and if you don't leave with some sort of intense complex, or deeply rooted fear of the dentist - they haven't done their job.

I moved north two years ago, and procrastinated on getting to a dentist - I missed my old dentist, but as I didn't want to drive an hour to my dentist every 6 months; I finally got around to finding a dentist that was more local. She came with the recommendation from my boyfriend's Mom, so I figured, hey, if she's mom certified, she must be good?

It's a miracle I didn't leave my first appointment in tears. After she rhymed off the laundry list of issues with my teeth, she began to explain how I would need corrective jaw surgery, followed by another stint with braces and if I didn't do these things, I could guarantee that my jaw would lock on me by the time I was 50 -- if I was lucky to make it till then.

W-T-F?

Somehow, these issues had NEVER been reported to me before from my previous dentist, or the dentist before him.

As she continued to lambaste me for another ten minutes on not getting to a dentist sooner, which I in part, definitely did deserve she finally finished her consultation with a clean bill of health - no cavities - teeth were in excellent shape. (Flossing, kids.) And hey, what do you know, she found it in her to leave me with a parting compliment, "I haven't seen teeth this white in a long time."

Mixed messages, much?

As if the mental tirade wasn't enough, getting an actual appointment here is a nightmare. I was apparently spoiled growing up in Brampton where going to the dentist on a Saturday wasn't a novelty. This office works Monday - Friday with only two late nights a week. If you want one of those beloved 8am or 7pm appointments, be prepared to wait for it...for a really long time. I had to reschedule my most recent appointment due to my boyfriend totalling his car in an accident (not his fault!) and reducing us to one vehicle, and they weren't able to reschedule my appointment for December or January - they told me to call back in February.

Alright... I was then inundated for an entire week with auto reminders, and as they charge $50 if you miss your appointment, I was forced to confirm again via telephone that they had in fact, cancelled the appointment.

As I'm not interested in really making this another 2 year event, I'm in the midst of investigating new dental offices to hold me over till my boyfriend and I move west of the GTA.

With any luck, maybe they won't make me feel like total ass about myself like St. Andrew's Dental has.